How To Buy Coats For Dudes

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My friend here (left) is wearing a good-looking coat today. It’s simple with interesting seams and subtle hardware. I shouldn’t be so impressed, but I am, mostly because dudes are generally not known for their outerwear selection abilities. I’m not entirely sure why, but it’s always been my experience that most boys seem to consider coats an afterthought, caring not at all that they look like 5-year-olds in jackets they borrowed from daddy. Too-boxy shoulders, weird lengths and gross fabric pilling all qualify as grave offenses, and it is your duty to help the men in your life avoid them. We’ve got a few suggestions to make the task less terrifying.

Stop. Wearing. Puffy. Coats. (The only exception is in the case of a sporting event or lazy weekend errands. Grown men do not need to be channeling the Michelin Man on the way to the office.)

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Make sure the shoulders fit. There should be only enough space to wear a mid-weight sweater, no more. Define the waist with a coat that at least vaguely follows the line of an actual body. And no, that does not make you metrosexual; it makes you look savvy. (This coupled with #1 will help you avoid the dreaded “boxiness.”)

Few and far between are the men who can wear a jacket which hits above the hip bones and does not look silly. Instead, if you want a short jacket, go for something that hits just below. Ditto for really long coats. With the exception of formal toppers, you really don’t need a duster. Sorry.

Spend more than $150. As much more as you can possibly afford. Coats are an investment and will look good longer if you’re not crazy cheap about it. Gaudy hardware, weird leather patches and any of the other odd additions that find their way on to outerwear should be avoided. Same goes for brand names. We get that you’re a fan of P. Diddy’s style; your coat doesn’t need to be a walking Sean John advertisement.